1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to jewelry and ornaments formed by means of casting. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel method of creating an ornament or piece of jewelry for which the casting mold is formed by an impression from a sample of hair.
2. State of the Art
Investment casting, sometimes called "lost wax" casting, is a well known method of producing intricate cast shapes, and has been widely used by artists, jewelers, dentists, and so forth for many years. Investment castings are generally created by carving, shaping or in some way forming from a wax, resin, or other suitable material a full size three dimensional pattern of the object to be cast. This pattern is enveloped in a mold material which intricately conforms to the shape of the pattern, and is then heated to harden the mold material and to melt or vaporize the wax or resin of the pattern so as to leave behind, within the hardened mold material, a mold having an empty space of the exact shape and size of the pattern. Molten metal or some other desired material is then forced into the mold space to produce the finished part.
One of the great benefits of investment casting is that the mold comprises a single piece that fully encases the pattern. This allows the reproduction of very intricate detail in the casting. Also, because the pattern vaporizes, there is no need to remove it, and thus no need for a two part mold. This avoids the creation of a line or ridge in the casting that frequently forms at the interface of the halves of two part molds.
The inventor has discovered that investment casting may also be performed using objects other than a wax replica as a pattern. Because the investment casting process involves heating the mold material to melt or vaporize the pattern, some objects or substances comprised of organic materials may be cast using the actual object as the pattern. During the heating process the organic material bums or vaporizes away, leaving an empty mold space just as when using a wax pattern. For example, the inventor has successfully made highly detailed castings using actual spiders as the pattern.
The investment casting process is particularly useful for casting jewelry such as pins, pendants, rings, earrings, medallions, etc. Jewelry may function to embody beauty in the form of art or provide a setting for precious stones, or be used as an ornament for picture frames, urns, and other items. Also, jewelry is often a means of symbolizing close relationships or serving as a memento or reminder of a special moment or person.
People frequently desire to have some tangible reminder of a pet or a loved one, particularly when that pet or loved one is deceased. While means exist for preserving all or part of a body, such means are not generally permanent, and keeping such an item as a memento is not generally considered socially acceptable, tasteful, or desirable. Except occasionally in the field of taxidermy, the same is true for items that do not easily decay such as teeth or hair. It would be desirable to have a method of tastefully preserving some tangible reminder of the physical person of a loved one or pet in a form that is considered socially acceptable, and also conveys some indication of the value one places on the memory of that person or pet.
Traditionally, pieces of jewelry such as a locket, pocket watch, pendant, medallion, etc. have been used as tangible, durable mementos of a loved one, particularly when engraved with a meaningful message. Frequently a photograph, and in some cases, a lock of a person's hair is attached to or enclosed within such pieces of jewelry as a reminder. The piece of jewelry thus has sentimental value as a reminder of the person, and may have significant monetary value as well. However, the photo or lock of hair will both eventually deteriorate, possibly leaving a piece of jewelry that has lost a large portion of its emotional value. It would be desirable to have a method of creating jewelry or an ornament of some kind that incorporates a physical reminder of a person such as hair in a durable permanent form that may become part of a piece of valuable jewelry, or may be attached to a picture frame, cremation urn, or other memorial.